Facebook & LinkedIn

Now that we’ve spent a tremendous amount of time on Twitter, let’s move on to Facebook and LinkedIn.

Facebook

To promote Management Summit and the Solo & Small Firms Conference, I created Fan pages for both on Facebook and placed “Fan Boxes” for each on their corresponding websites. Now, every time I write on the wall of the Fan page, it shows up on the conference website. This is an easy way to keep fresh content on a stagnant website and to continually inform visitors of updates and exciting news. I have found our Facebook Fan pages to be the least active in terms of members (or fans); but nonetheless, I still love it for the Fan Boxes on the websites.

LinkedIn

Because LinkedIn is the #1 social networking site for professionals, this has by far been our most active social platform. You should definitely fill out a company profile and request that your staff link up to the profile, but this is not where the real value is. The real value is in creating groups and initiating conversations within the groups. What’s the best way to get members fast? Start by creating an Excel spreadsheet of your clients. After you’ve built your group page, while you’re in the group, click on “Manage” and on the right hand side of the page under “Manage Group” click on “Send Invitations”. You will have the ability to upload your Excel file and invite everyone to join your group. Many have accepted our invitation and now it’s our job to create compelling discussions and respond to anyone who has posted a response or sent us an email through LinkedIn.

You can also send Announcements to your group members, but don’t overuse that feature. If your members/clients begin to look at your communications as SPAM, they will remove themselves from your group. The key with social media marketing, and all networking for that matter, is to first figure out how you can help the other person before asking something of them. How would you feel if a stranger, or even a client, walked up to you and launched into a sales pitch? Turned off and tuned out. What if a client approached you with some knowledge or an introduction that would further your personal or professional goals? You would want to reciprocate. Keep that in mind as you reach out to your clients and prospects through these new media channels.